Today’s first reading from Isaiah is challenging. We hear of King Cyrus, a pagan king of Persia, who was chosen by the Lord to subdue nations for the sake of the Israelites. Why would God use a pagan ruler to accomplish his plans for Israel? King Cyrus later issued the edict that allowed the Judean exiles to return from Babylon captivity to Jerusalem. This brief reading should cause us to reflect on how mysterious and great are God’s ways of working in our world! He often works through people in our lives we would never suspect. God’s plan of salvation, which culminated in His sending of His only begotten Son as our savior, is a perfect example. Who could have ever guessed that God would send His son to come into the world as an infant born of a simple Jewish girl in a backward corner of the Roman empire? Yet, 2000 years later we too have roles to play in God’s desire to spread the Gospel message and help build His kingdom on earth. Do we say “Yes” to the Lord just like Mary did?
Today’s Gospel reading is the first of three trap questions posed to Jesus: taxes for Caesar; the resurrection; and the greatest commandment. After heaping false praise on Jesus, the Pharisees try to place Him in an untenable position of choosing between lawful obedience to Caesar or siding with the common Jewish hatred of the Roman conquerors. But Jesus, knowing their intent, escapes with this answer, “repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” Matthew then tells us “When they heard this they were amazed, and leaving him they went away.” (Mt 22: 22) Jesus was not addressing the political issue of separation between Church and State. Rather, He was asking each person to think in terms of justice: pay honor to both Caesar and to God for what they both provide. Caesar provided things such as roads and military security. But God provides so much more, including life itself. We are called to give God everything because He gives us everything. Perhaps the Pharisees, amazed at His answer, “went away” realizing just how far they fell short of honoring God. How much do we render of our lives to God? Do we insist on trying to understand God’s unknowable ways before we relinquish control and just say “Yes, Lord!”?